I am really appreciative of all the replies here. I never thought this topic would generate as much interest as it has. Even those who didn't really have much to add ("ditch the Nikon, get a Canon") have had their voices heard and weighed. I think the general consensus is that I may have landed a dud; that Nikon cameras can survive the worst possible extremes and still produce award-winning photographs. As I mentioned in my previous reply, I think I will take the D7100 body to the shop where I bought it, and see if I can't use it as a partial down payment on a D7500 body.

Since the D7500 isn't yet publicly available, does anyone have some form of comparison between it and the D7200?

I am really appreciative of all the replies here. I never thought this topic would generate as much interest as it has. Even those who didn't really have much to add ("ditch the Nikon, get a Canon") have had their voices heard and weighed. I think the general consensus is that I may have landed a dud; that Nikon cameras can survive the worst possible extremes and still produce award-winning photographs. As I mentioned in my previous reply, I think I will take the D7100 body to the shop where I bought it, and see if I can't use it as a partial down payment on a D7500 body.

Since the D7500 isn't yet publicly available, does anyone have some form of comparison between it and the D7200?

Bob, the first time it happened, the kit lens that came with it (a very nice 18-140mm) also had to be repaired. Although I never dropped it or mishandled it, I am willing to believe that someone cleaning my ship's cabin on a cruise may have accidentally bumped it. However, the second occurrence came about five months later, and no lens was (evidently) involved.

Part of my conundrum comes from Nikon's response to my issue: All repairs are said to be warranted for six months. Believing that my camera fell under warranty repair after less than that, I was a bit put off by Nikon's claim that "damage due to drops" is not warranted, and that I would have to pay for the same repair again. Since I have no way of proving a negative (that I didn't drop the camera), I had no choice but to pony up and pay again.

I won't pay a third time. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you. The best way to prevent a third occurrence is by not using the camera.

About three years ago I decided to jump head first into the digital photography pool and purchased a Nikon D7100 and full complement of lenses, filters, flash, tripod, monopod, etc. It was light years better than the compact Nikon 1 J1 I had been using, which in itself was light years ahead of the Fuji FX45 pocket camera I had used before.

But, as some of you know, I suffered several unexplainable "breaks" that necessitated trips to Nikon and resulted in costly (~$500) repairs -- both times to the lens mount. I profess to be very careful with my camera equipment (and to other things I value: cars, guns, guitars, etc.), so these "breaks" concern me.

They concern so much, in fact, that I have become very reluctant to take my D7100 out of its carry case. I even went so far as to purchase a Coolpix P900, which I took on my recent cruise. If I have a gun I rely upon to carry every day and I lose faith in its ability to work reliably, every time, I might as well not carry it, right? I have the same feeling about my D7100.

So what do I do? I have a lot invested in said camera equipment. I suppose I could sell the body and replace it with some other Nikon (DX, I guess), or dump the whole lot and look at Canon, Sony, etc.

I've never been good on private sales. I'd probably take a big hit if I sold it to a shop, but I don't know anyone who I could approach to handle a sale for me.

This is my conundrum: Sell the D7100 and move on, or keep it and try to get over my angst about it (and if it goes "kablooey" one more time...)?

About three years ago I decided to jump head first into the digital photography pool and purchased a Nikon D7100 and full complement of lenses, filters, flash, tripod, monopod, etc. It was light years better than the compact Nikon 1 J1 I had been using, which in itself was light years ahead of the Fuji FX45 pocket camera I had used before.

But, as some of you know, I suffered several unexplainable "breaks" that necessitated trips to Nikon and resulted in costly (~$500) repairs -- both times to the lens mount. I profess to be very careful with my camera equipment (and to other things I value: cars, guns, guitars, etc.), so these "breaks" concern me.

They concern so much, in fact, that I have become very reluctant to take my D7100 out of its carry case. I even went so far as to purchase a Coolpix P900, which I took on my recent cruise. If I have a gun I rely upon to carry every day and I lose faith in its ability to work reliably, every time, I might as well not carry it, right? I have the same feeling about my D7100.

So what do I do? I have a lot invested in said camera equipment. I suppose I could sell the body and replace it with some other Nikon (DX, I guess), or dump the whole lot and look at Canon, Sony, etc.

I've never been good on private sales. I'd probably take a big hit if I sold it to a shop, but I don't know anyone who I could approach to handle a sale for me.

This is my conundrum: Sell the D7100 and move on, or keep it and try to get over my angst about it (and if it goes "kablooey" one more time...)?